Armstrong Still Lying: Investigators

Cyclist claims he stopped doping in 2005
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 19, 2013 3:47 PM CST
Armstrong Still Lying: Investigators
In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, Lance Armstrong arrives at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower, in West Hollywood, Calif.   (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Images, File)

Looks like Lance Armstrong is still lying, investigators say. While the cyclist did cop to doping to win the Tour de France, he claimed to have stopped in 2005: "That's the only thing in this whole report that upset me," he told Oprah Winfrey. "The accusation and alleged proof that they said I doped [in 2009] is not true. The last time I crossed the line, that line was 2005." Winfrey pressed him about 2009, and Armstrong reiterated: "No, 2009 and 2010 absolutely not."

But investigators tell ABC News that the cyclist's blood values were unnaturally high for the 2009 race—proof he had pumped mature red blood cells into his system. Why lie again? Because federal authorities seeking to press criminal cases would start with a suspect's "last overt act," investigators say. And the statute of limitations may have run out if Armstrong last doped in 2005. He isn't facing criminal charges at the moment, however—only three civil suits. (Analysts say he was actually less likeable after his Oprah interview.)

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